about

The Catholic Church in South Ashford

Who was St Simon Stock? St Simon Stock was born in Kent around 1165, he became the 6th prior general at Aylesford. He was an energetic worker and the Mother of our Lord appeared to Simon strengthening him at a time of crisis that affected the Carmelites. To learn more about the life of St Simon please click here.

Before 1987, all Catholics living in Ashford and Wye and the smaller

villages around Ashford belonged to St Teresa’s parish. In the

1950’s Mass was said for the people of South Ashford in a

prefabricated building in Woolreeds Road.

The housing estates around Brookfield were built about 1960 as part

of the London overspill agreement between Ashford and the then

London County Council. About 1960 St Simon’s Hall, Brookfield

Road, was built and opened as a Mass centre for South Ashford

parishioners. The site had previously been a duckpond, then a

refuse dump – which was to have repercussions later on. The new

hall was still part of the wider parish with Fr (later Canon) Ambrose

Woods as parish priest. Many activities were held at the main

church, St Teresa’s in Maidstone Road, although as the parish grew

in numbers larger events and celebrations were held in St Simon’s

Hall, as the former St Teresa’s Church was too small to take the

increasing congregations. Bob and Mary Hayward, who lived

opposite St Simon’s Hall, were the caretakers and sacristans; Mary

was the organist. They generally held the South Ashford community

together for many years.

In 1972, the RC parish primary school, St Teresa’s School, which

was then in Newtown, divided into two, with the new St Simon’s

School being opened by Canon Mahoney in May 1972. From then

on the community of South Ashford became more of a coherent unit,

as the school, with its first headmaster, Jerome O’Donovan, drew the

families together. Masses were still celebrated in St Simon’s Hall,

served by the three priests who were based at St Teresa’s Church.

In the eighties it was decided to divide Ashford’s Catholics into two

parishes: the people of South Ashford and villages to the south of

the town formed a separate parish of St Simon of England (later St

Simon Stock). The new parish came to birth on 21st January 1987,

with Fr Richard Harvey as the first parish priest, living in nearby

Grantley Close.

Fr Richard sold part of the land behind the present church to the

Borough Council, and he oversaw the building of a church and

presbytery on the same site as the church hall, which started in

1990. As the church site was being prepared, there was an alarm

about methane gas seeping out of the ground; the borough

engineers required meters to be placed everywhere and,

subsequently, gas-proof membranes to be laid in the foundations.

In 1991 the new church opened and Fr Richard moved into the

presbytery.

In 1995 a new parish priest, Fr Paul Fennessy, was appointed. St

Simon’s Church was consecrated 31^st October 1996. In 2001 Fr

Paul left Ashford and Fr John Boyle was appointed as parish priest.

Fr John stayed until July 2010, when he left England to work in

America.

Fr Neil Vincent was appointed parish priest of St Simon Stock in

September 2010.

John and Mary Addisson , Jan 2011